Former Waltham Police Officer Sentenced on Child Pornography Charges

Paul Manganelli, 48, of Waltham, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 60 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Upon release, Manganelli must register as a sex offender. In May 2014, Manganelli pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. Manganelli was a police officer at Waltham Police Department until after his arrest in March 2013.

Manganelli possessed visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including females between the ages of approximately six to 10-years-old. Manganelli engaged in substantial trading activity via e-mail. In March 2013, federal agents discovered Manganelli in possession of more than 850 images and 40 videos containing child pornography, including the lewd and lascivious posing, sexual penetration, and bondage of minor girls, as well as a substantial collection of child erotica. During exchanges with at least 53 e-mail accounts, Manganelli and others discussed their mutual sexual interest in children. In other e-mail exchanges, Manganelli claimed that he sexually molested a prepubescent girl and also asked others how to groom a child to engage in sexual activity with him.

On March 25, 2013, FBI agents interviewed Manganelli when he admitted that he possessed, received and distributed child pornography. He falsely claimed that during the two to three years he collected and shared child pornography, he was doing research in an attempt to identify sexual predators online. Manganelli was never assigned or authorized by the Waltham Police Department to conduct an online investigation, nor did he ever report any criminal conduct he observed.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacy Dawson Belf of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visitwww.projectsafechildhood.gov/